Eric Nelson

Born April 27, 1982, Santa Monica, California, USA

Has lived in: Connecticut; Los Angeles, California; San Francisco, California, USA; Hong Kong; Honolulu, Hawaii, and Portland, Oregon, USA.

High School: Hong Kong International School, Hong Kong.

Major: International Affairs

A senior at Lewis & Clark College, Eric came to L&C from Hong Kong International School (HKIS), where he graduated in the spring of 2000. Because his father works in banking, Eric lived in Connecticut, Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, before moving to Hong Kong when he was about 11. Eric hopes to remain involved internationally after graduation, perhaps with the Peace Corps, the UN, the US Foreign Service or a non-profit organization.

In his first year at L&C Eric lived in Akin Multicultural Residence Hall. Eric's experience in Akin Hall was very positive and he found it "a good place for first year students from abroad" because it was "more comfortable with other people who share those sorts of experiences."

With regard to adjusting to America, Eric says that there was "quite a smooth transition because the people that I was living with were very open to what I had to say."

Eric currently lives in West Hall, one of the new "apartment-style" halls on the L&C campus. In his hall apartment, he lives with an internationally diverse group--an international student from Pakistan (who grew up in Africa), a Hawaiian (who was born in Japan), and a Texan. Eric enjoys sharing common space with his housemates, but he says, "I really like having my own room, too."

One aspect of L&C that Eric enjoys is the many international activities offered throughout the year. These include international movie nights in Akin Hall, international dinners, the TCK (Third Culture Kids) group and the annual international fair. Besides enjoying these activities Eric is also very involved in events on campus. In his sophomore year, Eric served as country-chair for the East Asia at the International Fair. He traveled with two of his TCK peers to Spokane, Washington to speak L&Cs TCK program at a regional conference on international issues. to Eric is also a member of the L&C cross country team and is involved with the Inter-varsity Christian Fellowship.